Taliban's refusal to lay down arms a wake up call: Holbrooke

Warning that Pakistan is in a "dangerous situation" following Taliban's refusal to lay down arms as part of the peace deal in the Swat Valley, US special envoy for Af-Pak Richard Holbrooke on Monday said the militants' decision should come as a "wake up call" to Islamabad.

"What happened in Swat is a huge wake up call. That is not in the tribal areas. It is 100 miles from Islamabad... for it to fall under control of such murderous people. Hate
philosophy is really extraordinary. We are concerned about it," Holbrooke said on Monday.

Pakistan is in a "dangerous situation", he told CNN from Tokyo giving his assessment of the current situation in Pakistan in the wake of the recent developments related to the
peace deal with the Taliban in the Swat Valley.

Obama Administration's point man on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Holbrooke said he has expressed his "concern and confusion" about what has happened in Swat valley both
publicly and in private to the Pakistan's leaders.

The Pakistani response is that they have no other choice given how stretched the thin military resources are, he said.

"But, I would draw your attention to the fact that day before yesterday the chief spokesman of the Taliban in the Swat area publicly renounced the part of the deal, which they are supposed to lay down their arms," Holbrooke said. 

"It seems to me that, that would be a wakeup call to everybody in Pakistan that you can't deal with these people by giving away territory as they creep closer and closer to the populated centers of Punjab and Islamabad. They are less than a hundred miles from Islamabad after this deal," Holbrooke said.

"I am concerned that in growing days you have more terrorist attacks in Lahore, in Islamabad and perhaps in Karachi. So we are very concerned about this," he said.

Holbrooke said to come out of this mess, Pakistan needs massive influx of aid. "First of all you have to go after the economic and social roots of the instability in Pakistan, with more economic aid," he argued.

Observing that the Western Pakistan is breeding ground for the kind of rebellion that is now coming up, he said: "There has always been a lot of rebellion in that area historically but this is for the first time that it is being tied to an international terror movement." 

It is also for the first time since partition over 60 years ago, that India, Pakistan and the US face a common threat, a common challenge and a common task. "So we need more
resources," he said and referred to the Congressional bills, which proposes USD 1.5 billion a year aid to Pakistan for the next five years.